In certain circles of chatty online gamers, Sonic the Hedgehog is often a hot topic. SEGA and Sonic Team has taken its mascot on some wild rides over the past 20+ years, stepping into 3D 'modern' Sonic, attempting a return to 2D with Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and dividing opinion, and blurring the lines (with some success) in Sonic Generations. Nintendo gamers - home console version of Generations aside - have been able to play most of the Blue Blur's adventures, with a handful of exclusives to boot. They've ranged from very good to downright bad, but some fans have consistently argued that Sonic was at his best on the Mega Drive / Genesis and SEGA CD, through the 'classic' games that made his name.

Those games stand up today and have occasionally served as a reminder of the glory SEGA could once achieve with the series. It's somewhat ironic, then, that it wasn't SEGA or Sonic Team that rediscovered what makes a truly great game in the franchise, but devoted super-fans that also happen to be very talented developers. SEGA, to its immense credit, saw the best of fan projects online - with Christian Whitehead front and centre - and realised there was a gift to accept. Bring a group of Indie studios together, give them resources, handle the PR and bask in the goodwill. Be in no doubt, Sonic Mania is the best game in the IP for a long time, and sits proudly alongside the classics from the early '90s era. This is what many of us Sonic geeks have been dreaming of for over 20 years.

At its core Sonic Mania is partly a love-letter to the 'original' games, a remix but also a new experience. For a decent chunk of the game (particularly 'Act 1' in familiar zones) you're playing levels from the originals that have nevertheless been revamped with additional routes and fun new bosses and twists. These go right for the player's sense of nostalgia, but due to the excellence of the source material also serve as delicious 16-bit platforming to those that haven't played the originals. Mania isn't simply a greatest hits collection, nor should its appeal be limited to 30-something gamers that lack the speedy reflexes of the past.

The second Acts of each stage are buzzing with creativity, with the developers having fun spinning off and riffing upon the environments in smart ways. Over the dozen stages some are also entirely new, and even those that didn't get to play all the originals back in the day - this scribe never had Sonic CD, for example - will likely be able to tell which areas are brand new. Though remixed levels have a major visual enhancement over the source material, for example, all-new stages go further and truly utilise the wonders of modern hardware when applied to pixel art. Some levels do fantastic things with shadows, exploding glass and clever background effects.

All of that only matters because of one key area that this game absolutely nails down - gameplay. Since those 16-bit days SEGA has had mixed fortunes when it comes to how Sonic games feel and play, and Mania is a reminder of the blissful simplicity and polish that made those originals true toe-to-toe competitors with Super Mario. Controls are tight and responsive, the weighting of jumps and tempo is on the money, and it's immediately satisfying to play. A humorous 'Controls' section also pokes fun a little - you just run and jump, is the message - but worth note is that pressing X when in 'Options' brings up an easy-to-use and informative web-based manual, and the subtle complexities of the original Sonic formula come through.

You can spin dash immediately from a jump, or when you play with Sonic and Tails you can have your cute little fox buddy pick you up for a bit of flying help. When starting a save (there are 8 slots per profile) you can have the duo (with you controlling Sonic), or choose to have Sonic, Tails or Knuckles on their own. Tails can fly and swim at will but gets tired, while Knuckles has a neat glide and can climb walls. It's a pleasure tackling the campaign with each and utilising their strengths, but a feature we didn't even clock initially is that this game has the co-op we saw in the past. Take a Joy-Con each and one player can control Sonic and the other Tails, a great way to share the experience.

However you play, there's a treat in store. Clever stages, lovely visuals and tight controls combine for one of the most pleasurable gaming experiences of recent times, a reminder of why Sonic once battled for the ultimate supremacy among gaming mascots and how he made SEGA's name in the mainstream market. It's pure pixelated joy - speed and occasional chaos makes way for more delicate platforming and special stages, before swerving back to high speed hijinks.

Checkpoint special stages (you need 25 rings to activate them) come from Sonic 3, but there are lots of them as the end rewards are medals; these medals unlock goodies, but the stages to get them become particularly fiendish as you progress. Each run also has the more important challenge of collecting seven Chaos Emeralds - you can find a giant ring in each stage and play a special stage inspired by Sonic CD in which you 'chase' a UFO on a 3D track. These are tricky to find, and will have many going back for additional playthroughs.

Over the relatively lengthy campaign (for an old-school Sonic game) it all flows together into a rush of extravagant dashes, clever diversions - stages have plenty of alternate routes to find - and tricky areas. Like the great Sonic games on which it's based, Mania is about 80% fantastic, 15% very good and 5% angry "screw you Sonic" moments, at least for this reviewer. Such is the devotion of the developers to the classic Sonic formula that it keeps elements that were actually slightly annoying the first time around. A couple of stages fall off the 'challenging' category to 'a bit cheap', and we weren't particularly big fans of two auto-scrolling encounters that feel slightly messy to play. Even the worst parts are still rather good, but these brief segments feel like bad habits returned, briefly interrupting the blissful dash through the adventure.

The overall effect, though, is lovely, and there's more to enjoy beyond playing the core campaign multiple times. Time Attack is exactly as it sounds, dashing through stages you've unlocked to set 'fast' times and then look with bafflement at the top of the global leaderboards. Competition is also a fun return to split-screen local battles through stages. You can set the number of rounds, item types and stages, and the winner isn't just the fastest to the end (though you have limited time to finish after your rival). Coins and items collected also contribute to your score, and we had fun in sibling battles in both desktop mode with a Joy-Con each and on the TV with full controllers. These modes are welcome extras and perform well.

In terms of looks and performance on Nintendo Switch, the porting work of Tantalus - previous credits include The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD on Wii U - is on point. It looks great and runs at a solid 60fps in 1080p on TV or 720p on the portable, with the only exception in terms of a solid framerate being the first 3D Special Stage, oddly. You can also add a couple of CRT-style screen filters, too, which are nice to have.

It's excellent however you play, though the portability of the Switch is definitely a strength, with the visuals being right at home on the console's screen. The nature of Sonic means that it doesn't even matter that the left Joy-Con has no real D-Pad, though we did also like using the Pro Controller for docked play. Of note we had two cases where our HOME button was slow to respond, an issue that's done the rounds, but it was no major inconvenience. Overall, it's a great-looking game that runs beautifully.

A special nod must also go to the soundtrack, which is top-notch work by Tee Lopes. Some of the new tracks and remixes are downright funky, and play an important role in elevating the stylish and extravagant stages as you run and spin jump through them. It's one of the best soundtracks of recent times.

Conclusion

Sonic Mania is a true return to form for the mascot, in his 2D 'Classic' guise at least. It celebrates the glory days of the original games while also enhancing their qualities and taking on new ideas. From new areas, imaginative second acts and some delightful boss encounters, the development team has poured a lot of passion and talent into the project. The occasional bug and a couple of brief and cheap areas deprive it of Sonic-style perfection, but it's pretty darn close.

Is it the best Sonic game ever? It's in the conversation, though the classics it's honouring may stake a claim for slightly greater 'flow' in the campaigns. Frankly, it's better just to call it a dead heat and skip the argument - Sonic Mania belongs in the company of the games to which it pays tribute - the Blue Blur is back.

I've already 100% the game. It's short - but so are the classics. It's nothing short of amazing and has a butt load of replay value. Love it. Sonic is back - and I cannot wait for Whitehead & co to make a sequel.

Just goes to show that when you give a group of super fans the ability to make a game chances are they understand what made them fall in love with the games in the first place. It is kind of silly that these guys could do what SEGA, a huge company could not, I hope they let these guys make some more Sonic games in the future or even let them tackle another classic IP like Streets of Rage!

Can anybody tell me if there will be a physical retail copy in the United States? Sonic may be at his best but Nintendo sure is not. There still is no virtual Consol no Web browser no Netflix no Switch rewards to spend my points on, which are expiring! It sure would be nice if Nintendo would get their head in the game. All the fans are here supporting you and you're leaving us hanging. And please, can I text or voice chat with my friends? I have to use my PlayStation 4 to get a hold of my Nintendo Switch friends. Maybe it's Sega who should come out with a new system!

Got it yesterday, and it's really good. Still has the same problems every Sonic game had in the 90's, though - the focus on speed and the exploratiom are at complete odds with each other. A solid 8/10 for me.

I like how the levels flow into each other like Sonic 3 with cut scenes.Green Hill zone was fun but more of the same til you start getting those boss battles.Chemical Plant Zone Act 2 was just pure greatness and worth the buy alone.

I bought the Switch version but will probably pick it up on Xbox since with BC all my Sonic games seem to be on that platform once it goes on sale this winter

If only Sega would give this amount of fan service and effort into some of their other beloved IPs, such as Shining Force, Phantasy Star, Skies of Arcadia, Valkyria Chronicles (NOT counting that Azure junk here), Dragon Force, Panzer Dragoon (and PD Saga), LandStalker, etc., etc., etc... No company in the industry has sat on such a mountain of genuine AAA franchises and done so little (or nothing) with them; to this day Sega could absolutely be a first-party console maker if they wanted to, because their catalog is larger and more diverse than even Nintendo's. The dark cloud to Sonic Mania's silver lining is that now Sega will probably use it to justify continuing their myopic focus on Sonic.

@Bengals76 while all of those things are nice options to have I'd say non of them are essential. The only one I'd appreciate is some virtual console games, although I'm not struggling to find things to play without it any. I don't mind them adding things like a browser as long as they don't slow down the brilliantly simple and speedy OS, as right now it's perfect as it is.

With how this is selling - what are the odds of us getting an HD widescreen remaster collection of Sonic 1,2 and CD, based off Whitehead's amazing mobile ports? Almost feel like that's why [the head of team Sonic] made Whitehead put in so many old levels. Didn't list 3/Knuckles in that because there's rights issues with the music or something, I think.

Game really surprised me. Grew up with the Sega Genesis and Sonic but never got a Sega CD so I missed out on Sonic CD. This game is well worth the $20 and I'd gladly put down another $20 or so for a physical version.

Konami can't EVEN begin to compare to Sega in terms of how far a company can fall. Yes, they were once one of the premier third-party publishers in the industry (the height of their greatness was probably the NES, SNES, and PSX), but over time they became too centered around Metal Gear (overdependence upon a single IP is never a good thing), and the diversity of their other projects took a nosedive.

Sega, on the other hand, was the leading console maker and had arguably the most dynamic marketing campaign ever in the industry's history during the days of the Genesis, but the higher-ups began bungling everything as early as the 32X and Sega CD. And the Saturn (which gets FAR less love than it deserves) was where they really irrevocably sealed their demise as a hardware maker. They alienated key third-parties like Working Designs (without whom Western Saturn owners would have missed many of its greatest games, especially those RPGs) and even their own in-house developers like Team Camelot (Shining Force) who left for greener pastures. Sega is a cautionary tale for any company that loses its core identity and focus.

@WiltonRoots They're everywhere! They're taking over! It's a trap! They're coming for your hair! They're making you feel old by selling you unapologetic nostalgia products, and before you know if, you will BE old; your hair the pasty white of a snowman's ghost!

Stop the game before it spreads too far, and we all turn into Octogenarians! This gluttony of nostalgia must end!

@AtlanteanMan Sega fell much farther than Konami, classic Icarus style - but in pure distance only. Konami might not have traveled that distance, but they're sunk far, far lower - from panchinko machines to attempting to blacklist ex-employees from working in the industry. Sega f***s up constantly and consistently, but I feel like they still want us to love them, even if they're a bit inept at understanding what people want.

The real test is if Sonic can produce something 100% original, be awesome, and do it consecutively for multiple new games. Being reminded of the great past, as Sonic Mania is doing, I won't dare dispute, but Sonic has to go forward sometime, starting with Sonic Forces, and we'll see how that pans out. I think going forward for 2D Sonic games specifically, SEGA should let the folks that did Freedom Planet handle it, but that's just my opinion.

From what I've played of it, I love it. Still feels odd to play Sega games on Nintendo but I should be over that by now. I hope Mr Whitehead and co get to do Streets of Rage like others are asking for. Also one day I hope EA remasters the fantastic Desert Strike or makes available for VC if and when we get it.

The irony of the developer, Christian Whitehead, sharing a last name with @ThomasBW84, which is a longtime, massive Sonic fan (other than being the head of NintendoLife) is not lost on me.

That said, the only thing related to this game I was waiting for the most, other than the game itself of course, was this very review, mostly because I kind of knew it in my heart that it would have been Thomas writing it. I can imagine Thomas playing the game with a massive...

... grin on his face, all while turning back into the kid who never gave up on Sonic despite the franchise's apparent decline throughout the years. I'm happy for everybody: Christian Whitehead, Thomas Whitehead. Sega. Sonic.

This remix/hypothetical if-they'd-made-a-sequel idea is something I'd love to see more of, and Sega have so many franchises discarded after the 16-bit era that are prime candidates. I suspect Streets of Rage would be a popular choice.

Personally I'd love to see a Shinobi Mania, combining the best bits from the Arcade game, Super Shinobi, the Shadow Dancers and Shinobi 3. Maybe even the splendid GG games. What's that you're saying? Saturn version. Erm, nope, don't know what you mean, there was no Saturn version. NO THERE WASN'T!

I played a little of it and found it within just the first couple of stages to be more fun than the originals. I love the drop dash.

@AlexSora89 Let's just hope they can keep this up and that Sonic's through with having bad games. I wouldn't be against SEGA letting all the Mania developers take a crack at 3D Sonic honestly. I'd love to see their take on Modern Sonic.

Goodness. Gracious. My hands are trembling. Great review, great game. I've been to four Gamestops in the last 24 hours after reading the Switch restock news yesterday, but nothing. This will probably be the first game I play when I locate one, unless the drought stretches all the way to Odyssey. So glad to see Sonic get the respect he deserves. I'll be playing 1-3 on my Genesis tonight in an attempt to scratch my Sonic Switch itch. Hope you all enjoy!

"nor should its appeal be limited to 30-something gamers that lack the speedy reflexes of the past."

I take exception to that statement. I'm 35, and my reflexes are perfectly fine.

I run, I swim, I play tennis, I pedal, and when I'm sitting with a controller I can do mockballs in games like Super Metroid, or spin jump my way out of tight spots in Super Mario Galaxy. Last night, I completed Toy Time's Purple Coin challenge without dying even once.

"Finished" it earlier today. It'll take me a few more playthroughs (and even then I won't have begun to approach the number of times I've played S3&K) before I can say definitively how it compares to the classics, but it definitely belongs in their company.

@marnelljm@Zoda_Fett : File size is usually not a factor in determining whether or not publishers decide on a physical release (otherwise the 7GB+ NBA Playgrounds would have gotten one). Many retail 3DS games are under 100MB (some even as little as 12MB, if not less). Incidentally, Seiken Densetsu Collection on Switch is around 300MB, and there'll certainly be many other games with small file sizes. For the price that Sega are charging (AU$27), I would have welcomed a budget-priced AU$40 physical release that can be resold and/or played on other consoles.

@Dpishere@BustedUpBiker, @Pj1, @electrolite77Have you tried Streets of Rage Remake? I recently saw a video about it on YouTube, and it looks very interesting. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm planning to give it a shot this weekend. If it is good, Sega ought to get the team that did that remake to do a new Streets of Rage.

The only major downside I've had so far is apparently pro-controllers won't work in tabletop mode. I havn't really had a chance to play it at all but I booted it up and tried to play but pro-controller woudln't work in tabletop. It would still control the switch just fine but not sonic mania so that was weird. Otherwise it looks like a great game.

@wazlon@Yorumi That's weird. Right now I'm playing Sonic Mania in tabletop mode with the Pro Controller and it works just fine.

Make sure the Pro Controller is Player 1, not the Joy Cons. You can easily do this by removing the Joy Cons from the Switch and then controlling said Switch with the Pro Controller. At this point, even trying to play the game with Joy Cons will not work because they will be registered as Player 2.

@wazlon yeah i booted up shantae when i was having the trouble with the controller and it worked with no problem.

@Vee_Flames I'll mess with it more later. What I did was use the home button on the pro-controller to turn the system on when it was already in table top. Controller was definitely player 1, it booted the game and controlled the switch just fine but as soon as I got to the title screen it wouldn't register any buttons except home to return there on the switch. Without turning the system off I switched to shantae and it worked just fine so not entirely sure what's going on.

@Yorumi Okay, that's definitely weird. Although at random times I've had my Pro Controller stop responding entirely when I'm using it wirelessly, and it wouldn't respond until I connected it to the dock using the wired connection. So maybe your Pro Controller is acting up a bit too.

@Vee_Flames I doubt it's the controller, it worked in other games and I've played mk with my wife almost every day since it came out with no problems. I'll probably be playing it docked most of the time anyway just a weird thing I had happen.

Good to see that games made by fans can actually be good. Every so called 'amazing' fan game I've played have been terrible. Zelda Parallel Worlds and Super Metroid Redesign, for example. Horrible games. Then again this is more professional than your typical fan made game (i.e. they are getting paid).

I'm guessing this can only be played with the analogue stick in handheld/portable mode, with the Joycons attached? It's a shame there's no option for Joycons with D-Pads instead of sticks. The Switch seems like it's going to be home to lots of old school style games that are perfect for playing in handheld mode, but I just cannot play 2D games with analogue sticks, and the placement and button style of the left Joycon 'd-pad' hardly looks ideal. Still, I haven't played on one yet so there's a chance I'll be fine with it.

@OfNullAndVoid That's entirely what I was going for. Haven't played it in a year or so but it was amazing back then. Expanded levels, branching story, plenty of characters and customisation, a mash up of the 3 Megadrive games.. Would be a brilliant fit for Switch.

@ThomasBW84 It's a surprisingly satisfying name to say. Here a Whitehead. There a Whitehead. Everywhere a Whitehead Whitehead.

I like looking at people's surnames and wondering what their ancestors did to get given them. Smith is pretty obvious, and then there are plenty of geographical names like Mr. West or Ms. Durham which presumably refer to where people came from. But it sounds like your ancestors were famous for being old. Or possibly Super Saiyan. I'm not sure which is more likely.

Anyway, I hope the various Whiteheads of old are proud of the wordsmiths and gamesmiths they have begat. Which, incidentally, is another fun word to say.

This is the game I've been waiting for since I bought a 32x... and then Saturn... and then Dreamcast... and then got my hopes up for Sonic 4 on PC...

Hopefully this sells well, and we get a sequel, and maybe a compilation of CWs excellent Sonic 1, 2 and CD ports, maybe even finally a S3&K port (even if they have to change the music)

@Captain_Toad Any idea if Amy is in the game at all? I've seen lots of references to Sonic CD, Metal Sonic etc, seems a shame if classic Amy didn't make the cut even in a small cameo. Would also have been cool to have the Chaotix in there somewhere in their 16/32 bit sprite form.

@JJ286 I forget the exact number of medals...you get silvers for beating the Blue Spheres levels, and gold if you beat those levels with all rings collected. You can check your progress in one of the menu screens.

To collect chaos emeralds, you jump into a giant ring (a few are hidden in each level), and catch the UFO. Blue orbs make you go faster, rings give you more time left on the clock. I love these bonus stages.

@imgrowinglegsYeah I get why they did it the way they did. I gotta have a D-Pad for playing 2D games tho. And handheld is my preferred for the Switch.I'm surprised more people aren't complaining about it tbh I think its a real problem.

Loved the game. Finished it completely with Sonic + Tails, and with Knuckles with all Emeralds (currently about 7 stages in with Tails). Honestly, a few glitches aside, its a fantastic game which clearly had a lot of love invested into it. A couple of thoughts though:

*I recall some people used to complain about Sonic CD level design, particularly that of Stardust Speedway. I think they did a fantastic job of streamlining the gameplay in that level (especially Act 2 anyway).*The Special Stages took some getting used to. I hated the 5th Emerald with a passion. Could never master that one where all the others didn't take too much to learn.*While I like the inclusion of Bonus Stages, I almost wish they were a separate Blue Sphere's challenge mode to unlock stuff rather than being actual bonus stages. I feel the lack of proper bonus stages with any real bearing on the playthrough hurts it a bit.*Kind of wish Super Peel out and Insta-shield were always avaiable. In comparison while the drop dash is useful, it feels awkward to pull off and might have been nice with a different control for it.

Seeing how much retro love Sonic has received, I can't help, but want to see the same treatment with other forgotten Sega franchises... Streets of Rage, Shining Force, NiGHTS, Jet Set Radio, Skies of Arcadia... pretty please?

I really do think this is basically the best Sonic game since the 16-bit era--at least based on everything I've seen (which is most of the game at this point)--and possibly even the best of the best in many ways.

Sonic 1 is a slower game but still has some charming zones. Sonic 2 was faster and cooler. Sonic 3 & Knuckles found a balance between speed and exploration and Sonic Mania follows suit. I say this because some people think that they are all about speed and they are not. Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush are linear and try to be appealing through speed only.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is one of the best games ever made for any console because of the visuals, music, physics, controls and level design. Sure, there's a way to speedrun it and it's particularly fun but it is as satisfying going slower, backwards and finding secrets. Sonic Mania is its perfect sequel. You are not supposed to go fast all the time until you know what you're doing. There's nothing frustrating about it but, on the contrary, it's really rewarding.

Like someone here said, Sonic games are so different to a Mario game which has seen so many clones. Sonic games are really unique and after 23 years someone has finally nailed the formula with a new engine, better visuals that respect the lovely original pixel art, more graphics layers and better animation. The physics and the controls are perfect just like in Sonic 3. With a clever level design full of paths and secrets and the best characters in the franchise all available the replay value is almost infinite. Like the Mega Drive classics, this is almost a genre on its own and it's charming and fun. A highly recommended purchase for whatever console you choose to play it on.

@Proust It plays great on big TVs. The game is native 1080p on all consoles and native 4K on PS4 Pro and presumably on Xbox One X. It also has optional filters that are much better than others I have seen. Actually, I think this game plays best on a TV with a traditional controller with or without filters.

@NewAdvent I don't know what those people mean by 100% nor if all the claims are true. The game is packed with secrets, multiple paths, three characters that play differently and really hard bonus stages plus a few extras. It's not easy but there are many ways to play it. Also, a couple of bosses are kicking players. The price is relatively cheap compared to any other new release, specially Nintendo's. It's also very replayable.

I got it yesterday. I like it. But, I think it's priced right. I don't agree with the comments that it's a steal at $19.99; and I definitely don't agree with the comments that it's a steal compared to Nintendo's recent games (Mario Kart, Zelda, ARMS, Splatoon).....that sounds like crazy talk! This however is all opinion.

The one thing that I couldn't wait for, was to properly introduce the Sonic Series to my two sons. Yes, they've played the original Sonic games before but only for a very brief and rare occasions. I showed my youngest son how to use Tails to fly Sonic for short distances and his eyes widened with amazement and he was doing this trick throughout the rest of his play-thru.

I will say that my thoughts immediately went to other series and other developers that should reach out to fans in order to produce a quality game based off of the classics we loved as kids. Like others, I would buy a new Streets of Rage if made with the same diligence as Sonic Mania. Other developers/series that came to mind were Konami/Castlevania-Contra; Capcom/Ghost & Goblins; Treasure/Gunstar Heroes.

Bought it and downloaded it late last night. Only played Green Hill Zone. So far, I am impressed. My only concern going in was the controls. After Sonic 4's disappointing controls, I was leery and hesitant (although Generations improved upon it a bit). They nailed it on Mania. Feels like I'm back in the early/mid 90's. Can't wait to spend more time with it

@BlueOcean Awesome thanks man I'll keep an eye out for her. Can't wait til the PC release in a couple of weeks, and will definitely also pick this up on Switch as soon as I get one (likely when Mario is released)

I guess Sonic fans got what they deserved for a few years now. The game is very good and made me feel like playing my elder sonics on my mega drive/genesis. It's just a shame I can't play my Sonic CD. Borrowed it a couple of years ago. The guy went to Germany. Never saw him again nor my Sonic CD

I don't know if there will be anyone looking at the comments here anytime soon, but I'll share my opinion anyway. I'm not sure if I like classic Sonic all that much. My problem involves the core objective of having to work towards gaining the speed and being rewarding with it for doing what it takes to master the physics. I play Sonic games to go fast and get a white-knuckle, fast-paced joyride of a game, but when the classics make me work to try to gain that thrill, it just doesn't appeal to me all that much. Obviously, I know that there will be many disagreeing with me here, however I think I prefer the approach of most modern Sonic games in which the exhilarating speed is given to you up front and the challenge is to be able to maintain said speed by quickly reacting to obstacles. The boost formula games need work done to them, but I'm really hoping we can actually get a good Sonic game that executes the Boost games' ambitions well.